When it all crumbles down
by Desastreuse
Summary: Katniss is in boarding school and lives happily with her friends and her boyfriend, Gale. Everything changes when her best friend and lover shows his real personality and hurts Katniss in every possible way. Who can she turn to when she's out on the streets, staggering around, on the verge of insanity?
1. Gale

**_Author's Note_**

**_Hey! So this is my first story. The Hunger Games' characters are in boarding school. Katniss is with Gale as the story starts. It's very much out of context, but I like reading such stories myself, so I decided to give it a shot. Please let me know what you think. I'd really appreciate it! Constructive criticism is very welcome. Enjoy!_**

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**Chapter 1: "Gale"**

Looking into his deep grey eyes, I know that this is right. I smile at him. 'I love you, Catnip,' he says, smiling back at me. 'And I always have,' he adds. I scoot over to him. 'I love – ' I start to confess. He interrupts me by pulling me closer to him and crashing his lips onto mine. He feels warm, passionate, and hungry. His arms grip my waist and pull me down while he leans back. As we lay down, he rolls on top of me, kissing me forcefully. The grass tickles my skin, but I don't care. All that matters is that I'm here with Gale, who loves me.

We've only been dating for two months now, but we're quite serious about this. Perhaps it's because we've been friends for so long. The fact that we only realized we loved each other two months ago doesn't mean that those feelings haven't been lingering for years. I wasn't sure when we first started dating, but I am now. Gale would take a bullet for me. He loves me. And I love him to death, too.

Gale moves his hands from my waist and puts them to the grass to lean on them. He pulls back from the kiss to look deep into my eyes. 'My God, Katniss, I can't believe I survived without doing this for so long.' As soon as I open my mouth, about to say something to him, he pushes his lips onto mine again. I sigh into his mouth, but he ignores it. He forces his tongue into my mouth and deepens the kiss even more.

Gale is not the dominant one in our relationship. I'd say we're equal. He's fiery and passionate, though. Often, he seems to be hungry for more, rather than just satisfied with a tender kiss. I know he's kissed girls before and I also know that, when we take our intimacy to the next level, I won't be his first. That is painful, but I let it rest. Gale isn't really a talkative person, but he has told me that I'm the only special girl he'll ever be with, that I'm the only one he ever really loved, that those girls he dated while he was actually in love with me were just distractions from his feelings for me. I chose to believe him. I still do.

I can't pull back with Gale on top of me, so I push him up and roll over. He immediately grips my waist again. He breathes heavily, looking me in the eyes as I pull back. He tries to kiss me again, but I won't let him. I push his shoulders down, pin him to the ground and grin at him. 'I've always wanted a strong woman,' he breathes, smiling. 'Glad you got your way, hm?' I brush my lips against his and I feel him shiver. 'Listen up, tiger,' I start, seeing the lust in his face, 'I should head back to my dorm…' 'Maybe you should head back to my dorm, instead,' he grins with a hopeful spark in his grey eyes. I arch my eyebrow and he sighs. 'I'll walk you there.'

I roll off of him and lay down next to him. 'Why do you have to go anyway?' he says while he gets up and offers me his hand. 'Studying session with Annie. Awful test tomorrow, we need to revise some chapters,' I answer as we walk out of the park, back to the campus buildings. 'Too bad,' he mumbles, wrapping his arm around my waist.

I look up at his face. His gaze is focused on the road. The wind blows through his dark hair, messing it up just a little. Fascinated, I stare at his appearance. After a minute of walking, the left corner of his mouth curls up into a smile. 'Would you stop staring at me?' he says, not looking down. I chuckle. 'Sorry.' He pulls me to a stop and looks into my eyes. The intensity in his eyes makes me catch my breath. After a minute or two, he smiles. 'Now we're even,' he says.

We walk a bit further and before I know it, we've arrived at my dorm. 'So I'll see you tonight at dinner?' I ask while I open my door. Without answering, he grabs my hips and pulls me back to the corridor. He turns me around and pushes me against the wall, kissing me once again, long and passionately. His hands wrap around my waist, then slide down to my butt, pressing my body against his.

After what seems like forever, he pulls back and keeps his face a few inches away from mine. 'In case you're wondering: that's a yes,' he whispers. He lets go of me and walks away through the corridor of the girls' dorm building as if nothing happened.

It's obvious that Gale wants more than this. He radiates lust every time we're in the same room. I'm just not sure I'm ready yet. I mean, we've been together for two months. That's pretty short, right? I want to take it slow, to make things special. Perhaps it's not as special for him, given that it won't be his first time. A bitter feeling flashes through my head. I shake my head. It'll be special for him too. He promised.

I walk into the room. Annie's in there waiting for me. I wonder if she heard all that. Judging from the look on her face, she did. Trying to keep a straight face, I grab my books. 'Library?' I ask. 'Sure,' she chuckles. 'But first, you might want to do something to cover up that hickey in your neck.'


	2. Games

_**I didn't get any reviews on my previous chapter yet, but that's okay, it hasn't been up for long (and I think it gets way better than the first chapter, but that's for you to judge). I've written the whole story already, before I even decided to publish it, so I'll update it anyway! I'd really appreciate it if you'd let me know what you think (if it sucks, just tell me haha). Enjoy!**_

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**Chapter 2: "Games"**

Annie and I enter the cafeteria. 'God, studying makes me hungry,' I whine. Annie agrees. We walk up to the counter, get ourselves a plate of pasta and sit at the nearest table, ready to devour every last bit of food. Just when I want to start eating, Annie yelps. A low voice laughs.

I look up to see Finnick's hands in Annie's neck. 'Finnick! Have you been in a freezer or what?' She gasps and takes Finnick's icy hands from her skin. She holds them in hers to warm them up. 'I get cold quickly,' Finnick shrugs. He adds: 'Which is surprising, since I'm – ' he strikes a ridiculous pose ' – so hot.'

He laughs at our annoyed faces, pulls the chair next to Annie's back and sits down, stealing some of his girlfriend's food. 'Hey!' she laughs. 'Aren't you getting any food for yourself?' 'Gale's getting it for me. I'm guessing he's strong enough to lift two entire plates… Such a tough guy,' he smirks at me. 'That's good, since you can't even carry your own,' I respond innocently.

He pretends to look hurt. 'Katniss! Haven't you seen these muscles?' He flexes his arms. I laugh. 'Oh come on, Finnick, I'm stronger than you. Way stronger.' 'So I've been told.' He winks at me. I roll my eyes. Gale and Finnick always talk to each other about Annie and me.

'There you go, wimp,' Gale's voice says behind me. He leans over my shoulder and hands Finnick his plate before sitting down next to me. His leg brushes against mine. A spark runs through my entire body. I look up. He doesn't look back, but the smile on his face tells me he felt me shiver.

He starts a casual conversation with Finnick. I'm discussing my plans for the weekend with Annie when I feel Gale's hand on my thigh. His warmth seems to spread through my entire body. I look up again to see no response from Gale. There's just that stupid smile again.

I know he likes making me feel awkward by doing this sort of stuff in front of other people. Well, it's not exactly in front of other people, since he's stroking my thigh under the table. They can see my reaction though. I try to keep a straight face, but I'm a terrible liar. He knows that I hate him when he does this. I decide to give him a taste of his own medicine.

'The weather's gonna be great on Saturday, so perhaps we could go to the beach,' I tell Annie. Under the table, I move my hand to Gale's thigh. I gently touch the bare skin of his knee, not covered by his shorts, and slide my hand up. His eyes widen, but they still aren't on me.

'That sounds great,' Annie says excitedly, 'don't you think so, Gale?' My hands are about halfway his thigh now. 'Uh, yeah, sure,' he mumbles distractedly. His breating becomes erratic, but I'm the only one to notice. I suppress a smile. 'The beach sounds good,' Finnick says. 'Great idea, Katniss.' 'Thanks,' I smile.

I look at Gale for a moment and see his clenched jaw. He's still desperately trying not to look at me or my moving hand. Just when I think he's about to acknowledge me, I dig my nails into his skin. 'OW! Katniss, what the hell!' he shouts. He looks at me furiously, only to see my devious smile.

I move my hand back to my plate and continue to eat, like nothing happened. He looks at me angrily, mumbles something, kisses my cheek and gets up. 'Where are you going?' Finnick asks. He and Annie look confused. I chuckle. 'To get some fucking band-aids,' he grunts. When he's gone, I look at Annie and Finnick. Annie looks shocked. Finnick, on the other hand, bursts out in laughter. 'I warned him for strong women…' he says, shaking his head and finishing his plate. 'So,' I say after an awkward silence, 'we're going to the beach on Saturday?'

* * *

Annie and I run into Johanna in the main hallway. 'Hey,' Johanna says, punching my arm. 'Movie night?' 'Sure,' we answer in unison. We all laugh and decide to meet in Johanna's dorm. Ten minutes later, I knock on Johanna's door. She lets Annie and me in. We say hi to Clove, Johanna's roommate, and sit down next to her on her bed.

As Johanna starts the movie, Annie turns to me. 'What was that all about at dinner?' she wonders. I chuckle. 'You know how he always teases me when we're around others?' 'Well, I am familiar with the awkward look on your face…' she smirks. 'I decided to give him some of that, too,' I say proudly. Johanna turns around. 'Well, well, well. It's about time someone swept that arrogant smile off his face,' she jokes. 'But what about the band-aids?' Annie asks. Johanna and Clove stare at me in shock. I smile and show them my long nails. After a short silence, we all start laughing and the movie starts.

* * *

An annoying beeping noise comes out of my bag. 'Phone is dead. I'll be right back,' I tell the girls. I walk over to my own dorm to charge my phone's battery. On my way back, someone suddenly grabs my wrist and pulls me into a closet. I can't see his face in the darkness, but I recognize the feeling of Gale's skin on mine.

'Hey, stranger,' I whisper. 'Stop it,' he hisses into my ear. 'Stop what?' 'Playing games.' His breath has the same effect as his touch. It warms my skin and affects my entire body. I sigh. 'Sure, I'll never touch you again,' I say sarcastically. I pull my wrist out of his grip. He moves even closer to me, until his lips are only an inch away from mine.

'Lighten up, Gale, I was just kidding.' I glare at him. Even though it's dark, I can see his eyes. He doesn't really look angry. He actually tries to hide a smile. 'I love how you look when you're mad at me,' he finally says. 'So you actually started a fight for fun?' I snap at him. He smirks. 'I can't help it. I just love challenges,' is his cryptic answer.

Before I can even think about it, his hands are all over me and he kisses my neck. My heart skips a beat. He knows what to do. He knows all the right places. He makes me catch my breath over and over again. He's good at this. Too good… I force the thought of all those other girls out of my mind. I just want him closer. I kiss his lips. He reacts immediately.

I move my body even closer to his and let my hand rest on his thigh again. He grabs it and guides it upwards. I smile. He never seems to learn anything. 'Stupid,' I mumble. He stops to look at me. 'What?' 'Nothing,' I grin. I move my lips to his, but I don't kiss him. I slowly pull away. He pouts, pulls me back to him and buries his face in my hair. 'Why, Katniss? Why do you do this to me?' he moans. I pull away again and walk to the door. Before I leave, I turn around to smile at him. 'I can't help it…' I whisper. 'I just love games.'


	3. Girl talk

_**Very much a filler chapter, but it gives some insight into Gale's (and others') personality and reputation. Reviews of all sorts are more than welcome. Enjoy!**_

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**Chapter 3: "Girl talk"**

I walk back into Johanna and Clove's dorm. The three girls are chatting and playing a card game. 'What happened to the movie?' I ask, entering the room. They don't look up. 'It was boring,' Johanna shrugs. Clove looks up, stares at me for a few seconds and then starts laughing. 'Well, Katniss, did your phone charger try to strangle you or did you happen to run into Gale on your way?'

The others look up and get stuck in a terrible laughing fit. 'What?' I pout. Annie points at the mirror. My own reflection makes me gasp. I had covered the hickey Annie pointed out before with my hair, but Gale messed my hair up and the love bite is clearly visible again. It seems to be even bigger than before. My lips are red and swollen. My shirt is creased and somehow, Gale has managed to twist my skirt.

I flee into the bathroom and curse. The others start laughing even harder. I make sure I look proper again and leave the bathroom again. My cheeks are bright red, but other than that, I look fine, I guess. 'I guess he got you back once again on the awkward part, Katniss,' Annie says. I shrug, smiling shyly. 'Yeah, I'm afraid so.'

Someone knocks on the door. 'Might be Gale,' Clove jokes. 'Funny,' I say, rolling my eyes. 'Who's there?' Johanna shouts. 'Madge!' 'Oh, come in!' Madge opens the door. 'Hey,' she smiles at us. Well, she smiles at the others. The way she looks at me resembles a grimace rather than a smile. I act as if I didn't notice and so do the others.

I always wondered why Madge doesn't like me. I don't think I ever did anything to her. It's not like she is actually mean to me or snaps at me all the time, but she just doesn't show any signs of friendliness towards me. I don't really care. We get along well enough to not mess up the mood when we're with our mutual friends.

We start to chat. Clove starts ranting about this guy she likes. 'Oh, he's so amazing…' she says dreamily. 'Sometimes I just want to touch him so badly and it takes all I have not to.' 'Wow, Clove, that's deep,' Johanna mocks her. 'Shut up, Johanna.' Johanna grins. It's so easy for her to push people's buttons. She always seems to be able to get people angry. She actually likes it.

'No, I get it,' Annie says. 'I feel the same about Finnick. The difference is that I get to touch him whenever I want… And wherever I want,' she smirks. Johanna whistles. 'Never know you were such a beast, Annie.' Annie rolls her eyes. 'Jealous?' Johanna is quiet for a second. 'Well… Perhaps,' she says. Her face flushes. 'I have a boyfriend back home. I kind of miss being able to touch him any time I feel like it.' 'Oh, I'm sorry,' Annie apologizes. Johanna shakes her head. 'Don't worry, it's not like I ever told you.' 'Why's that?' I ask. 'Because I don't tell the entire world about my relationship. Unlike you, Katniss…' she says laughing. I stick out my tongue. 'Mature, Katniss.'

Madge has been quiet all the time. 'So, Madge,' Annie starts, 'is there any guy you like?' 'Not really, she admits. Her cheeks turn red. 'Looks like a lie to me,' Johanna remarks. 'Well… No, I'm not even sure whether I like him or not, so I'm not telling you. We hang out sometimes, but I'm not ready to tell anyone yet. It's nothing, really. It probably won't work out anyway. I don't think he really likes me, not the way I like him.' 'Don't give up, Madge. Maybe you can win him over!' Clove smiles. Madge smiles faintly. 'Maybe.'

'And well… How Katniss and Gale are doing is obvious. Did you manage to get your skirt straight again, honey?' Johanna teases. 'Watch yourself, Johanna,' I smirk. 'I can take you on.' 'Easy there!' We laugh and chat some more. All of a sudden, I remember the test Annie and I will be doing tomorrow. 'Ladies, I'm off to bed, big test tomorrow,' I yawn. Annie decided to join me to our room. I tell the girls good night and walk to my dorm with Annie.

'Hey Katniss,' Annie says hesitantly as we enter our room, 'can we talk for a minute?' 'Sure, what's up?' I sit down on my bed and start brushing my hair. She sits down next to me. 'You and Gale…' I frown. 'Are you happy with him, Katniss?' I hold back an irritated response. She really does look worried. 'I am,' I assure her. She bites her lip. 'What's wrong, Annie?' 'I don't know. He just seems so… physical. I hope he's not persuading you to do things you don't want.'

I don't respond, I just look at her. 'Sex,' she clarifies. I nod. 'Thanks, Annie, for caring. I want you to know that I'm in control of that situation. I know he wants to,' I sigh, 'but I've made my boundaries pretty clear and I promise I'll stick to them.' She looks relieved and says: 'Just stay true to yourself, Katniss. You're pure. Don't change that until you're totally sure that he deserves you.' I'm touched by her concern and hug her. 'Thank you, Annie.' 'Just wanted to be sure,' she smiles apologetically.

She takes my brush and starts brushing my hair for me. 'So how are you and Finnick?' I ask. 'We're great. I'm so glad we're together.' 'So have you…' 'Slept together? Yes, we have,' she responds quickly. 'You know, Katniss, I wanted to wait too. Finnick has been very patient with me, he never tried to force me into anything. After a year, I just felt ready. It felt right. It still does.' She sounds so dreamy when she talks about Finnick. They have been together for over two years. I wouldn't be surprised if they would get married one day.

'I'm glad, Annie,' I smile. I mean it. 'You deserve it. More than anyone.' Annie is an angel. She's the sweetest girl I ever met. Finnick is lucky to have her. She's lucky to have Finnick, too. Whereas Finnick is the entertainer, Annie always includes everyone. They keep each other in balance. They complement each other. Honestly, I've never seen two people my age being so perfect for each other. It makes me smile to hear Annie talk about her relationship.

We just sit there for a little while. The silence is peaceful. Then, Annie gets up and gets changed to go to bed. I do the same. When the lights are off, I think about today. Making out in the park. Gale's hand on my thigh during dinner. His reaction to my teasing. The closet. I decide that Annie's right: Gale is physical. But I can handle him. I'm a strong woman. I'll manage. And Annie might be the best friend I ever had. I fall asleep with a smile on my face.


	4. A helper

_**Before I posted chapter 3, I only had about 35 views. Suddenly, there's over 180, that's amazing! Thank you, readers! Reviews are always welcome. I do realize that this chapter isn't very interesting either, but it's still kind of relevant. The next one is better, I promise. Enjoy!**_

_**By the way, just stating the obvious: I do not own The Hunger Games etc.**_

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**Chapter 4: "A helper"**

The test is too damn difficult. I just sit there, staring at my empty sheet of paper. I look up to find Annie. She seems quite hopeless too. I look at the other students. Some are writing enthusiastically. I envy them. I really tried to prepare well for this test, but as far as I can tell, preparation doesn't get you anywhere. It's about being a genius. My head is full of swear words. My answer sheet is still empty.

I sigh. A few people look up to glare at me. I didn't realize I was so loud and I blush. A pair of blue eyes sends me a reassuring, encouraging look. Peeta Mellark. I smile at him and look back at my answer sheet. Question number one. I dig through my memories. Come on, Katniss, you've been through this yesterday… Suddenly, I know the answer. I write it down and move on to the next question.

The boy in front of me is writing hysterically. It unnerves me. I sit back and look around, trying to stay calm. At least I've got one answer now. I just hope it's correct. Peeta's bright blue eyes catch mine again. He smiles at me. I smile back faintly. 'Okay?' he says soundlessly. I hesitate, then nod. He winks and turns back to his work. I feel a stupid smile creeping up on my face. I shake my head and look at the test again. Question number two. Try to think clearly. The answer suddenly pops up in my head. Great, this might not be so bad!

The test goes by in a rush of blue eyes, sudden answers and random smiles. When the bell rings, I have quite a good feeling about it. I might have passed it. The students hand in their answer sheets, pack their stuff and leave the classroom. As soon as I'm in the corridor waiting for Annie, I let out a deep breath. I feel so relieved.

Suddenly, I feel a large and warm hand on my shoulder. Gale? I look up. It's Peeta. He smiles at me. 'So?' he says. 'Better than expected, I think I did fine,' I grin. As he starts to walk away, I grab his arm and whisper: 'Thanks, Peeta.' He immediately knows what I mean, smiles even wider and says: 'My pleasure.' Then, he turns and walks away. My cheeks turn red. As soon as I realize that, I feel like a twelve-year-old. He only spoke three words to me. Besides, I'm with Gale. Stupid, stupid, stupid. 'Katniss?' Annie is right behind me. She sounds sad. 'That was awful,' she says. I decide not to disagree with her. She'll probably become more upset if I tell her I did quite well. Besides, I don't want to explain about Peeta, either. Why would I? Nothing happened. 'Yeah, it was,' I tell her.

* * *

Finnick sits down next to Annie by our lunch table. 'Hey, beautiful,' he smiles. He kisses the top of her head. 'How was your test?' 'It was awful,' Annie says. She starts talking about the difficulty of some of the questions while my mind drifts away. 'Right, Katniss?' 'I'm sorry, what?' 'Didn't you think the questions were really vague?' Annie asks me. 'Oh, well, yeah. The entire test was horrible. I had no clue whatsoever,' I respond. Someone chuckles right next to me. Peeta is just passing our table. He glances at me and winks again. My cheeks turn crimson again. I look at the others. They didn't notice. Annie is talking to Finnick again.

'Hello there, hot stuff,' Gale jokes as he sits down next to me. He grabs my shoulders, pulls me in and kisses my lips shortly, but passionately. 'Gale, we have company,' I hiss. I catch Annie looking at me and remember last night's conversation about Gale being physical. I nod at her. She gives me an understanding look and keeps her mouth shut. I make a mental note to thank her for that.

'Always a gentleman, right, Hawthorne?' Finnick says, rolling his eyes. Gale smirks arrogantly and puts his arm around my shoulder. I'm a little annoyed, but I still enjoy his presence and let my head rest on his shoulder. I sniff, trying to detect the scent of his beloved aftershave. I love how he smells. No aftershave. I smell something different. 'You smell like flowers,' I tell him. 'I've been outside,' is his simple answer. 'You smell nice,' I whisper. He pulls me a little closer.

'So, only three more days until we go to the beach,' Annie states. 'Who will we take with us?' 'Well, there's the four of us, and then there's Johanna and Clove. And Cato,' Finnick answers. 'What about Madge? We should ask her, too,' Annie says. 'Sure. So that's it?' Gale asks. 'Yep. I can't wait!' Annie is so excited. I smile. I'm looking forward to it, too: spending a day with my boyfriend and my best friends on the beach. I can't think of a better place to go to spend a hot and sunny Saturday. We use the rest of our lunch break to make plans for the rest of the weekend.

* * *

I enter the classroom as the bell rings. I'm kind of late, because Gale wouldn't let me go before "one last kiss". I think back of our closet meeting and immediately check my clothes and my hair. Fortunately, I look fine. The teacher doesn't really care. I take the only free seat. It's next to Peeta. 'Horrible test, right? Absolutely horrible,' he mocks me. 'Hey! I was just trying to keep Annie happy,' I laugh silently. 'I'm kidding, I get it. Nicest thing to do,' he whispers. I look at his face, but he's paying attention to the teacher now. For some reason, this boy I've never spoken to except for today fascinates me. I force the thought out of my head. I'm with Gale. Peeta's not interested in me anyway. He's just being nice. Get over yourself, Katniss.

Minutes before the end of the class, I get a text from Gale.

_Skip your next class. Meet me at the park._

That's all it says. I frown and decide to do as he says. I know that I should go to my next class – it's kind of important and Annie will probably wonder where I am if I don't go – but my curiosity wins. Also, I really want to see Gale. I want to feel his arms around me and I want to feel the passion running through his body when he kisses me. I long for him.

I hear a ticking noise next to me and look up. Peeta is sitting next to me. He is tapping his pen on the table. For some reason, it feels weird to think about Gale while Peeta is right here with me. I really don't know why, but it feels… conflicting. Bad. I pull his pen out of his hands, causing him to look at me in surprise. 'For the love of God, stop that,' I whisper. He chuckles. The teacher looks at us angrily, but doesn't say anything. I look down at my table and shove the pen back to his desk. He smiles, shakes his head and looks back at the teacher. At least he does leave the pen alone.


	5. The park

_**Thank you all for reading! Knowing that people appreciate my story makes my day. Reviews (even constructive criticisms) are very welcome. Enjoy!**_

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**Chapter 5: "The park"**

When I arrive in the park, there's nobody in sight. I sit down on the small wooden bench and wait for Gale. Ten minutes have passed when he arrives. 'Hey,' he smiles. I get up and he pulls me in for a kiss. 'What the – did I do that?' I say, pointing at a love bite in his neck. 'Yeah, don't you remember?' he frowns. 'I didn't realize it was still there, I never knew it was so bad,' I giggle. 'It is,' he pouts. I kiss the dark skin in his neck. 'Better?' 'Way better,' he breathes.

He kisses my forehead. I stare at his deep, grey eyes. The ones that are so similar to mine. The ones with the fire in them. I put my arms around his neck and pull him in for a kiss. He lifts me up and I wrap my legs around his waist. He grabs my butt and deepens the kiss. 'Not here,' I whisper into his mouth. He pulls back to look at me. 'Let's go somewhere private,' I say, realizing that anyone can see us from the boys' dorm building.

He smiles and carefully sets me down on the ground. He takes my hand and we start walking. I look at our intertwined fingers and smile. 'Where are we going?' 'My dorm? Your dorm? You tell me,' he grins. I don't think I'm comfortable with that. What if Annie tries to come in and finds the door locked? Or Finnick, who is Gale's roommate? Gale sees my hesitation. He gets a determined look in his eyes.

All of a sudden, he pulls me with him into the bushes. I bump into him and we fall down on the moist ground. He rolls on top of me and strokes my cheek with his left hand. I sigh. 'Couldn't wait?' 'More privacy than in our rooms,' he smirks. 'Gale, this – ' He interrupts me by crashing his lips onto mine. He presses his body onto mine and kisses me as if he were to die tomorrow. His hands move from my face to my neck and downwards. He starts pulling up the hem of my shirt. 'Gale!' 'What?' 'Stop!' 'Jesus Katniss, it's not like I was trying to rape you!' I sigh. I hate fighting over this. Again.

'It's only been two months, Gale. I don't think I'm ready for this yet.' We get up. He puts his arms around me and lays his chin on top of my head, but I release myself from his embrace. 'We need to talk about this,' I tell him. 'I don't see why! I've been waiting for…' 'Two months, Gale! Two months!' 'No, that's what you think,' he shouts. 'I've been waiting for years and years. Now we're finally together and you still don't trust me enough! Do you even love me?'

I'd expect him to look hurt after saying something like that. However, all I can see is anger and frustration. I get the strange feeling that something is very, very wrong. 'You just play these stupid games with me – and yes, this time I do mean it – but you always leave me somewhere along the way! I can't stand it, Katniss!' he continues. 'It's like everything is about lust with you, Gale, but isn't it really about love?' I say softly. 'God, how many times do you want me to tell you I love you before you'll believe me?' he says, rolling his eyes. My eyes fill with tears. He doesn't understand me at all. He turns around and leaves me alone in the bushes. I hear him stomping off. 'I do believe you! And I do love you!' I yell at him. He ignores me.

I walk back to the bench I sat on just a while ago, when nothing was wrong, and I let the tears flow. I just keep on crying for the rest of the class. Annie must be worried about me. I never skip classes. I text her.

_Annie, I'm in the park, can you come over to our room after this class?_

I walk to our room and throw myself on my bed, bawling my eyes out. Five minutes after the bell rings, Annie storms into our room. She sits down on the edge of my bed and hugs me. 'Katniss! Oh God, Katniss, what happened?' she says. 'You were right about Gale…' I snivel. 'What did he do?' she asks. I look at her face. She looks worried and furious at the same time.

'He said all this awful stuff about me not trusting him enough to sleep with him… And that I don't love him and that he's waited for years to be with me and now I still don't let him…' I stammer. She hands me a tissue. 'What a jerk,' she mumbles. 'But you should talk to him about it. This should be over right now. Either you break up with him, or he decides to be patient with you.' Her fierce words bring me back to reality.

She grabs her phone and starts typing. 'Are you texting Gale?' I ask in shock. 'No, Finnick. To make sure that Gale does come over,' she grunts. Ten minutes later, someone knocks on the door. Annie opens it. Finnick comes in, dragging Gale with him. 'Now, you are going to talk to her!' Finnick yells at his friend. 'And you'd better treat her well,' he hisses. Gale looks a little intimidated and nods. 'Good. Katniss, if you need anything…' Finnick says. 'Thanks,' I smile through my tears. He sends me an encouraging smile and takes Annie out of the room.

Gale looks a little lost in my room. After an awkward minute of silence, he sits down on the couch. 'So…' he mumbles. I look at him expectantly. 'Look, Katniss, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you… It's just… It's hard for me.' 'But isn't our relationship more important than your stupid little needs?' I snap at him. I'm still mad and teary-eyed. 'It is. Oh, Katniss, of course it is, don't you ever dare to think otherwise!' He looks at me. A tear runs down his cheek. I resist the urge to run to him and wipe it away. I hate seeing Gale cry.

He gets up and sits down next to me, on my bed. 'Katniss, I love you. You have to believe me.' 'Only if you never doubt my love for you ever again,' I tell him. He frowns, then remembers what he said to me in the park. 'Oh Catnip, I'm so sorry,' he says, hugging me. For the first time since we got together, he hugs me tenderly instead of demandingly. He uses my nickname. I let my head rest on his broad shoulder. 'I'm sorry for everything,' he whispers into my hair. I sigh. 'I'm sorry too, Gale.'

We sit there for hours, just chatting and hugging, until it's time for dinner. It's like nothing ever went wrong in our relationship. It's like we're friends again, but closer. We get up to go to the cafeteria. When he holds the door open for me, he sneaks in a little kiss on my cheek. I smile at him, wrap my arms around his waist and press my lips onto his. I feel him smile. 'I'm glad we're okay,' he whispers into my mouth. I pull away and look at his deep, grey eyes. 'So am I.'


	6. Suspicions

_**I got a review saying that Katniss should've ditched Gale. First of all: you're totally right. Then again, Katniss and Gale have been friends for so long and that makes it easier for Katniss to forgive Gale. Don't worry though, the action will be taking place soon! Once again: reviews are always welcome. Also, I don't own The Hunger Games, blah blah. Enjoy!**_

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**Chapter 6: Suspicions**

A gentle hand grabs my shoulder as I walk through the hallway after dinner. I turn around. Finnick's beautiful eyes look into mine. 'How did it go, talking to Gale?' 'It was good,' I assure him. 'He… He apologized.' The surprised look on his face amuses me. 'It was good,' I repeat. Finnick seems relieved. 'Great. And if he ever does anything – whatever – again, just let me know. I'll kill him.' 'Thanks, Finnick. I appreciate it,' I laugh. 'Although you might want to think twice about committing a murder on campus…' 'Anything for a lady's wellbeing,' he winks. 'I'll see you later.' Annie sure is lucky to have a guy like Finnick.

I walk to my dorm room and I decide to go to bed early. It's been an exhausting day. For some reason, fights seem to draw the energy from me. As soon as my head hits the pillow, I fall asleep. Nine hours later, I wake up after a dreamless night's rest. I feel great. I'm so glad Gale and I have finally sorted things out about… us. About sex. About everything. I start the day with a smile. It's like a new chapter of my life has begun. I shake my head and laugh at myself. So little has changed. It feels like a whole new life, though.

Annie won't stop ranting about the beach. 'I haven't been to the beach for so long!' she tells me during lunch. 'I used to go to the beach every day when I lived at home. I'm really looking forward to it.' Her cheeks turn red in excitement. 'I've only been to the beach twice,' I confess. 'I loved it, though.' 'What's better than a day at the beach with your friends?' Annie smiles. 'Not much, I guess.' 'Nothing! Absolutely nothing!'

Since we talked, Gale has been sweet. He pecks my cheek, holds doors for me, kisses me tenderly, strokes my hair rather than my butt, gives me compliments, hugs me gently… He seems like a different person. I wonder what he does with his longing and his needs. Maybe he's been learning about self control. I'm glad he's willing to wait. He could get any other girl he wants, any girl would be willing to submit to him. Still, he goes for me.

That night, he calls me and invites me to come and watch a movie in his dorm. 'I'm not expecting anything from you, I promise,' he tells me through the phone. 'Sure, sounds like a plan,' I say. 'Good! Should I kick Finnick out? We could also invite Annie if you want to.' 'The more, the merrier, right? I'll bring Annie.' We wrap up the conversation and hang up.

That night, Annie and I arrive at the boys' dorm. Gale opens the door and lets us in. Finnick is starting the movie while Gale and I sit down on the couch. I give him a kiss. He pulls me in to make it last longer. There's still that feeling of longing in the kiss, but Gale is not as demanding as before. When we hear the movie's soundtrack, we pull back and cuddle up on the couch. 'Gale, easy on the lipstick next time,' Finnick jokes. I look at Gale's face. His lips are reddish. 'Blame my lady,' he smiles, kissing my temple.

I smile, but my mind is racing. Lipstick? I'm not wearing any. I look at Gale's lips again. Then I remember my image in the mirror, a few days ago. My lips were red and swollen from kissing. That must be it. I look at Finnick. He's laughing out loud. I should have known he was just messing with me. I smile, give Gale a quick kiss on the lips and turn my face to the screen. We spend two hours watching the movie, kissing and chatting quietly. As soon as the movie's over, Annie and Finnick tell us they're going for a little walk.

Gale and I are alone in his room. For some reason, it still makes me feel uncomfortable. Gale notices. 'Katniss,' he sighs. 'I won't do anything you don't want me to do. Please, just trust me.' 'I'm sorry,' I say blushing. I feel bad about it. It's not like I have any reason to be afraid of him. He promised he'd be patient with me. I still believe him. He smiles at me, kisses my forehead and says: 'Don't worry. I'll be right back.' He disappears into the bathroom. I look around the room. I don't come here very often.

The lipstick thing is still stuck in my head. Trying to fight the feeling of guilt, I look in his closet. Clothes. Surprising. What else did you expect to find, Katniss? I shake my head. Checking to be sure that Gale's not coming yet, I move on. Night stand. Nothing. Under the bed. Definitely not nothing. I pull out a box. Condoms. Underneath Gale's bed. 'Jesus,' I whisper. Right then, Gale comes out of the bathroom. 'Katniss, what… Hey, what the hell?' he frowns. 'What are you doing?' 'What's this, Gale?' I ask him coldly.

He looks at me, still frowning. 'Still trying to make a move? I thought we went through this! I thought we talked this over!' I say, raising my voice. 'Katniss…' he starts. I look at the box. 'And why is it open? Care to explain why is it half empty?' I realize I'm shouting by now, but I don't care. 'Katniss, they're not mine!' he says after a short silence. 'They're Finnick's.' 'Under your bed?' 'Well, yeah,' he says sheepily. I glare at him. I don't believe him. 'Right, Gale.'

He sighs. 'Okay, they are mine.' I start to get angrier with him. 'But I swear I wasn't planning on using them.' 'Looks like you already have!' 'No! Well, yeah. Before we were together. They've been there for months, I didn't even remember having them until now. Everything is different now, Katniss. Really.' I think for a minute. It could be true. We've been together for two months, but who knows what he did before that? I look at his face. He just looks desperate. 'Katniss, please, trust me…' he whispers. 'Why did you lie to me at first?' 'I know you don't like my… history with girls. I know it upsets you. I was just trying to… save you the misery, I guess.' His eyes fill with tears.

I can't deal with a crying Gale. I get up, walk to him and stand right in front of him. He touches my arm, waiting for approval. I nod. Before he can do anything, I fall into his embrace. 'I'm sorry, Gale.' 'It's okay. I understand how it must have looked,' he chuckles. I just want to trust him. I don't want trouble, I don't want to lose my boyfriend and my former best friend all at once. Besides, his story sounds plausible. He seemed so emotional when he confessed. I trust him, right?

Here, with his warm arms around me, I feel safe. Now that he accepts my wishes, I really do feel safe with him. Like I used to feel safe when we were just friends. 'I love you, Katniss. Do you believe me?' 'I believe you. And I love you too.' He pulls his arms even tighter around me and leans against my forehead with his. I trust him.


	7. A friend

_**Thank you all for reading! An anonymous reviewer pointed out that the story progresses too slow. I'm sorry about that, I just did what seems about right to me, but creative differences will always exist! Also, this reviewer mentioned that Peeta didn't occur yet - he did, in chapter 4. It's okay though, criticism is good because it makes sure that I don't make the same mistakes over and over again. Reviews are always appreciated. Also, I know that the outcome is quite obvious, but I didn't write this story just to create suspense. I hope you can appreciate it anyway! I'm sorry for the long author's note, but I just needed to get this off my chest. Enjoy!**_

_**(I still don't own The Hunger Games or the characters.)**_

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**Chapter 7: "A friend" **

On Friday afternoon, I have a free class. I decide to go to the library and revise some chapters for the test I have to do in an hour. I kind of like the library. It's nice and quiet. The perfect place to study for a math test. I feel well prepared, but extra practice is never a bad thing, so I take out my notebook and start doing a mock test. I'm quite good at math, if I may say so. The first question on the mock test is really easy. If the real test is like this, I'm sure I'll get a nice grade.

Someone clears his throat. I look up to see Peeta's smiling face. 'Hey,' he whispers. 'Care if I join you?' 'Sure, take a seat,' I answer. He sits down next to me and takes his books out of his bag. After five minutes, he sighs. 'Aren't you bloody nervous for this test?' he says softly. 'Well, not really, to be honest. I think I understand most of it.' 'Lucky girl,' he answers. 'Do you want me to explain some stuff? I mean, I do owe you,' I grin, referring to the test we had to suffer a few days ago. His silent encouragement did give me confidence. 'Sure, that would be great!' he says. 'Sssssh!' we hear. The librarian is glaring at us. 'Maybe we should go elsewhere,' I smirk.

We end up sitting by one of the picnic tables in the park. 'So you when am I supposed to apply this formula?' he asks. He looks really frustrated. 'When you're asked to calculate the volume of…' 'No, seriously. What's the use? At what point in my life will I need this formula?' He smashes down his pen. I start laughing. He glares at me before realizing how silly he's acting. He starts laughing too. 'I'm sorry,' he says, 'I just can't stand this subject. So, back to business. I apply this horrible thing when I'm supposed to calculate the volume of a section of a sphere?' 'Yes! Try it,' I tell him, pointing at one of the questions of my mock test.

Ten minutes later, our books are stored in our bags. We are sitting in the grass, enjoying the sun and discussing life at our boarding school. 'Do you miss home?' he asks. 'Well… Sometimes. I miss my sister, but I talk to her on the phone at least twice a week,' I respond after a short pause. 'What about you?' 'Not really,' he chuckles. 'Really? You don't miss your family at all?' 'Well, I do miss my dad sometimes. He's really cool. My mom… not so much.' I want to ask him about his mother, but he suddenly sounds kind of distant. It might be a sensitive subject, so I let it rest.

'I hope the weather will still be like this tomorrow,' I sigh. 'I heard it'll be even better than today,' he comments. 'So what have you got planned that demands nice weather?' 'I'm going to the beach with some friends and my boyfriend. Rain would mess it up,' I tell him. He nods. 'My friends and I planned to go work out at the gym tomorrow, but that would be a waste of a nice day. Perhaps we should go and play baseball instead. Or we could go to the pool in town,' he says, talking to himself. 'I guess you should, get that pale skin of yours a little tanned,' I tease him. He smiles. A pleasant silence follows. For some reason, it's not awkward at all.

'I'm sure this won't do any good for your math grade,' I grin, laying down in the grass. I close my eyes. 'Actually, I couldn't care less…' he trails off. I zone out for a while. A shriek brings me back to reality. 'Peeta!' a high voice yells. I open my eyes and see a girl jumping Peeta. They both fall to the ground. He laughs and kisses her cheek. 'Hey Delly,' he says, getting up. 'Who's she?' Delly asks him, glaring at me. He rolls his eyes. 'Delly, this is Katniss, my classmate. Katniss, meet my girlfriend, Delly.' 'Nice to meet you,' I smile at her. 'Yeah,' she says, looking back at Peeta.

She begins kissing him passionately. He pulls away. 'Please, Delly,' he says. 'Not here.' 'Why not?' She glares at me. 'Moral values,' he chuckles. She looks confused. It's almost as if she has no idea what he's saying. I smirk. She looks even angrier. 'What?' she snaps at me. 'Nothing,' I say quickly, surprised by her temper. I wonder why Peeta's with her. He's so nice, so handsome, so funny, so clever when math is not concerned, and she… Well, as far as I can tell, she's none of that. But why do I even worry? I have Gale. I Delly makes Peeta happy, who am I to judge?

I do wonder what makes Delly tick. Is she that jealous, just because Peeta talks to me? It seems to be more than that. I never did her wrong, although she glares at me like I did. It's not like she just walked in on me hooking up with Peeta. 'Are you coming to my room after your last class?' she asks Peeta in a seductive manner. 'Uh, sure,' he mumbles. Right at that moment, we hear the bell ring. Thank God. I get up and get ready to go.

'Wait up Katniss,' Peeta says, taking his bag out of the grass. 'Peeta, where are you going with her?' Delly whines. I swear, this girl's got some issues. 'To our test. Classmates, remember?' He sounds a little annoyed. 'Oh,' she pouts. He rolls his eyes, pecks her cheek and tells her he'll see her later. She huffs, turns on her heels and walks away. I look at Peeta and raise my eyebrows. 'I'm sorry about that,' he says. 'I don't know what's wrong with her today.' I shrug. 'She doesn't really seem to like me, does she?' 'Apparently not,' he laughs.

We make our way to the classroom, chatting all the way. It's weird that I had never talked to Peeta until a few days ago, after the previous test. He's really funny and we get along well. 'I can't believe we never actually talked before the day before yesterday,' he speaks my mind. 'It's strange, considering that we take quite a number of classes together and we've been at the same school for four years,' I say pensively. He nods. 'Well, better late than never,' he smirks.

I finish the test in about half the time we are allowed to use. It was about the same level as the mock test, exactly as I expected. I have a really good feeling about it. I wonder how Peeta is doing. He was so nervous. I shake my head, angry at myself. Why does Peeta keep popping up in my mind? He has a girlfriend. I have a boyfriend. I have Gale. I really do love Gale. And he loves me. I shouldn't be thinking of Peeta so much. He's a really nice guy. He could be a great friend. That's it.

These thoughts make me feel really guilty towards Gale. It almost feels like I'm cheating on him. Well, of course, I don't – I would never do that – but my mind does. It's stupid, because I don't love Peeta. Why should I? How could I? I barely know him. I would like to get to know him, but just as a friend. I think of Gale. Even though things have been a little rocky lately, he still gives me a warm feeling inside. He makes my head spin, he makes me catch my breath, he makes my heart beat so fast I don't think it's healthy anymore.

It's all clear to me. I love Gale. Peeta might be a good friend someday, but my heart will always belong to Gale. Nothing – or no one, for that matter – is going to break us apart. Ever. I smile at my own determination. No more worries. I can't wait to see Gale again. I long for his smell and I crave the warmth of his arms. Only twenty more minutes.


	8. The beach

_**Dear readers, thank you so much for reading and reviewing! Here it is: our sweet, naïve Katniss finally busts her boyfriend after many hints she didn't quite catch. Gale doesn't take it well... Read on, enjoy!**_

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**Chapter 8: "The beach" **

On Saturday morning, we gather at the parking lot. The girls all hop into Johanna's old car. Gale and Cato take the back seats in Finnick's convertible. 'We'll get some groceries on the way,' Finnick promises as he kisses Annie's hair. 'Sure, thanks guys, we'll meet you there,' she giggles. I take the last seat next in Johanna's car, next to Madge. The boys wave at us, turn on the music and drive off. Johanna starts her car. 'Let's do this,' she shouts. We all cheer as she drives away from the parking lot.

Annie is excited during the entire ride. 'I can't wait!' she sings. 'We know, Annie,' Clove sighs, pretending to be bored. 'Katniss, are you okay?' Madge asks. I realize I was staring out of the window for quite a while before she talked to me. She looks genuinely worried. 'Yeah, I'm fine, thanks,' I smile at her. She takes a chocolate bar out of her bag and offers me some of it. I wonder why she's so sweet all of a sudden. She probably wants to make sure the mood stays this great during the entire beach trip. She's right, this day would end up awful if we don't try to get along.

She sprays some perfume in her hair. It smells familiar, like flowers. 'Why do you do that?' Clove wonders. 'The scent stays longer if you spray some perfume in your hair,' Madge explains. 'No, why do you use perfume on a beach trip?' Clove clarifies her question, smirking. 'Is there anything wrong with wanting to smell nice?' Madge asks. Only after saying that, she realizes how unnecessary it actually is. 'Whatever. You're right, my hair is going to smell like the ocean in minutes,' she laughs.

After an hour of slowly driving through the narrow roads of the town by the sea, taking a detour and buying some magazines along the way, we arrive at the beach. The guys are already there. 'It's hard not to drive fast in this beauty,' Finnick explains, caressing his black car. Annie rolls her eyes, making us all laugh. 'You know I'm kidding, Annie,' Finnick says. He puts his arms around her and buries his face in her hair. She smiles. 'I know.' 'Well, love birds,' Cato interrupts them, 'are we going to the beach or what?' We all take our stuff out of the cars and walk to the beach.

As soon as our towels are laid out in the sand, I take off my dress, revealing the swimsuit I put on this morning. It's a red bikini. Gale looks me up and down, then stares into my eyes and smiles deviously. 'What?' I ask slowly. He leaps towards me, lifts me over his shoulder and runs to the water. We both fall in and burst out in laughter. 'Come here,' he says softly. He kisses the salty water off my lips, puts his hands on my hips and pulls me closer to his soaked body. 'You might have wanted to take off your shirt before diving in,' I smirk. He shrugs. 'I was distracted.'

* * *

Two hours, many sweet kisses and a whole lot of laughing later, Johanna and I are laying on our towels. Annie and Finnick are taking a swim. Cato and Clove are getting us drinks. I sit up. 'Hey, have you seen Gale?' I ask Johanna. 'Nope. Wait, he went to the bathroom,' she mumbles. 'Yeah, thirty minutes ago,' I respond. 'He probably ran into Clove and Cato,' she suggests. That's probably it.

'So, Jo, what do you think about that couple?' 'What couple?' 'Clove and Cato,' I clarify. She considers it. 'They would be cute together. Maybe he's the guy she was talking about a few days ago.' 'Probably,' I smile. I've noticed the way Clove looks at Cato. She really can't take her eyes off of him. Cato is really sweet. He looks tough and a little intimidating, but he is not a bad guy. He's got quite a temper, though. Clove has a bad temper too. Maybe that's why I can picture them together so easily.

'Sssh!' Johanna hisses. Cato and Clove are coming back. 'Thanks guys,' we say in unison as they hand us our drinks. I notice that Gale is not with them. 'Have you seen Gale?' I ask them. I'm getting worried. What if he got lost? I shake my head. How can he get lost on the way from our spot to the toilets? Cato looks surprised. Somehow, his expression seems a little fake. 'No, isn't he here?' Clove asks stiffly. Something's up. They are terrible liars. 'Okay, tell me,' I ask suspiciously. 'No, really, we haven't seen him,' Cato, says.

'Why are you lying?' Johanna asks. She frowns. Clove looks away. Cato tries to keep a straight face. Before I can ask anything, Finnick and Annie greet us. 'Hey, have you seen Gale?' I ask them. 'No, but where's Madge?' Annie looks around. Everyone is starting to look worried. 'Perhaps they decided to sneak away together,' I joke, trying to lighten the mood. Suddenly, I finish the puzzle in my head. My jaw drops.

The love bite that didn't go away. The lipstick stains on Gale's lips. His flowery smell. The condoms. Madge's strange behavior towards me. Her comments on the guy she likes. The fact that Gale didn't seem to have any sexual needs anymore, whereas he used to be a hormonal time bomb before our talk. I feel a tear rolling down my cheek and look at the faces of my friends. Annie and Finnick don't seem to realize what I mean. Cato and Clove look guilty. Johanna breaks the silence. 'No. Katniss, it can't be…' Cato interrupts her. 'It… I'm sorry, Katniss. We saw them…' he stammers.

'Where?' I cry. Cato seems to hesitate. 'We saw them sneaking into the storage room of the restaurant,' he sighs after a short pause. I get up and take one last look at my friends' faces. Finnick's jaw has dropped too, his eyes wide in shock. Annie's crying, feeling sorry for me and knowing what Gale's twisted reasons for this escapade must have been, but not realizing that this might not be the first time Gale cheats on me with Madge. Cato gives me a pitiful look. Clove still can't look me in the eye. Johanna just looks furious, ready to rip off Gale and Madge's heads.

I hold my head up high and start walking in the direction of the restaurant. 'Katniss…' Finnick whispers. I turn around. 'Do you want us to come with you?' he asks. I shake my head. 'I might be wrong,' I shrug, trying to look strong and confident. I turn on my heels and dash through the sand, to the restaurant. As soon as I've reached the back door to the storage, I hesitate. I don't want to see this. I just want Gale to show up and tell me I was wrong.

I know it won't happen. I know I'm not wrong. Everything about this situation is wrong, except my thoughts. I take a deep breath, open the door and storm into the storage room. And there it is. My nightmare. My greatest fear. Madge, on top of Gale, riding him. And Gale, sucking Madge's breast, obviously enjoying every second of it. Madge looks over her shoulder and her face twists into a horrified grimace. Gale looks up and curses. All I feel is anger. 'I'm sorry for interrupting!' I shout at them. 'Katniss!' Gale yells. I ignore him and I run off.

Gale follows me after putting his shorts back on. He's faster than me. His hand grips my arm and spins me around. I lift my free hand to slap him across the face, but he grabs my wrist. 'Katniss, I love you,' he pleads. I try to get away, but he won't let me go. All that's left for me to do is cry. I start bawling. He tries to pull me closer and comfort me, but I stomp on his foot. 'Let me go!' I cry. 'Not until you give me a chance to…' 'No!' My voice cracks.

He pulls me into a tight embrace. For a second, I let him. I then realize that this body has done who knows what with Madge's body and try to get away. He's too strong. His grips on my arm is tight enough to cause bruises. 'Gale, please, just let me go,' I cry. My face is wet with tears. Gale doesn't look sad or guilty, he just seems to be furious. 'Katniss, stop it, get over yourself and listen to me,' he shouts. 'No!' He adjusts his grip on my right wrist. I take my chance and pull my arm loose and I stomp on his foot again. He glares at me. His fist swings through the air and punches my face. My vision goes black for a second. I only realize he swings his hand again when it hits my lower lip.


	9. The escape

_**Hey there! Thank you all for reading and reviewing, I really appreciate it. The previous chapter was kind of intense, but this one is very different. I would like to stress that the previous chapter has been the only violent one in the entire story, there won't be any more beatings! Enjoy!**_

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**Chapter 9: "The escape"**

My breath stops. My heart skips a beat. I clutch my face with my free hand and use all the force I have left to back away from him. He hit me. I taste blood and put my hand to my lip. There is a cut in it. My eye hurts even more, though. It feels like it's swollen already, although it will probably get much worse. I wipe away some tears. Looking at my hand, I realize that I just wiped away blood. There is a cut next to my eye. Blood trickles down my face. I take my hands away from my face and look up at Gale. I'm no longer angry or sad. I'm just frightened by this man in front of me, this man I don't think I know.

Gale seems to realize what he has done. He freezes as he sees my face. 'Katniss…' he whispers. I turn and start running. I run past my friends' cars, away from the parking lot, past people with shocked looks on their faces, along the road to town. It's not far to the town's center, but walking back to school will take hours. I start to feel dizzy. I can't walk for hours, but I decide to try anyway. My head feels fuzzy. I don't know what else to do. Where should I go? I have no money with me and I left my phone on the beach too. I can't search for help in the town's center; I probably look hideous and I don't want to cause any trouble. Not even after what Gale did to me.

* * *

I stop running, because I feel too weak. I cautiously touch my face. The cut near my eye is still bleeding, but I don't have anything to cover the wound with right now. The cut on my lip has stopped bleeding, but it still hurts badly. I feel the tissue around my eye swelling to the point where I can't even open my eye as wide as usual anymore. The tears start flowing again. How could this happen? How could I let things get this far? How could I not see who Gale really was?

After what must be about an hour of walking, I hear a familiar man's voice behind me. I freeze. 'Katniss?' A large and strong hand touches my shoulder. Gale. I flinch, then duck to avoid the hand that caused me so much hurt. 'Leave me alone, Gale,' I stammer, trying to step away. 'Hey, Katniss, it's me,' Gale says, sounding worried. Wait… That's not Gale's voice. The fear starts to fade away, but I still don't dare to turn around. I can't show my face to anyone. Why did I walk through town?

'Katniss, please…' the voice says. I am too confused to recognize the voice. I don't trust him. I know that he's not Gale, but that doesn't mean I can show him my face. He gently tugs on my shoulder, forcing me to turn around. I look into a pair of blue eyes. The pools of oceanic blue slowly fill with fear and concern. 'Katniss…' He puts his hands on my upper arms. I flinch. I forgot the bruises Gale made until Peeta touched them. He clenches his jaw. 'I'm taking you home.' He takes my hand – well, actually, he only touches the tips of my fingers, afraid to hurt me again – and leads me to his car.

For the first time since the fight, I look around. I'm near the pool. Of course, that's where Peeta told me he and his friends would be spending their Saturday. 'Shouldn't you…' I whisper. He turns around swiftly. I look at his face. He looks a little upset. I point at the pool, not able to utter any more words. His friends are facing the other side. 'Don't worry about them,' he smiles faintly. He opens the car door for me, shuts it after I got in and sits down in the driver's seat. He starts the car and drives away from the parking lot by the swimming pool.

After five minutes of silence, he sighs. 'Are you going to tell me what happened?' He glances at me. 'We were at…' I start. The tears start rolling down my cheeks once again. I shake my head. I can't tell him. He focuses on the road again. He carefully puts his warm hand on my knee, bending over to me a little bit to reach me. 'It's okay. Don't worry,' he says softly. He puts his hand back on the steering wheel. I touch the cut near my eye again. It hasn't stopped bleeding yet. This can't be good. I look at my blood-covered hand and sigh.

Peeta looks at me, bites his lip, shakes his head and hands me a towel. It's dry and clean and for some reason, it smells like mint. I press the towel to my head, flinching in the process. We just sit there in silence. Every once in a while, Peeta looks at me. I just stare out my window for the first fifteen minutes. Then, I turn my head to look at his face. His gaze is focused on the road. His jaw is clenched and he's frowning all the time. Suddenly, I'm really glad to have someone around. I feel a need to talk.

'I caught Gale cheating on me with Madge,' I blurt out. His eyes widen, but don't look at me. He doesn't seem to know how to react. He opens his mouth to say something, but then shuts it again. I try to hold back the tears. I can't open my right eye at all by now. I shut the left one too, just to make sure I won't start crying again. It hurts so much. It doesn't get any better.

He waits for the rest of the story. I don't understand what he expects me to say, until I realize that I haven't explained about my face. 'I ran. He stopped me. I tried to get away, but… he didn't really think that was a good plan,' I laugh bitterly. I can't hold back the tears anymore. Laughing hurts. He shifts his hands, gripping the steering wheel tightly. 'It's going to be okay, Katniss, I promise,' he tells me. I shake my head.

'Okay? I've lost my boyfriend, who was also my best friend for years. To top it off, I'm scared of him. I look terrible. Everything hurts,' I mumble. 'That's it,' Peeta exclaims all of a sudden. I freeze and glance at him. The look in his eyes frightens me. He looks furious. He pulls over to the side of the road and parks the car. I don't understand what he's doing. He turns his body to face me and carefully grabs my free hand. His hands are soft and gentle. Nothing like Gale's were, less than two hours ago. His expression softens.

'Gale is a jerk for doing that to you,' he starts, looking at me intensely. 'He doesn't deserve to be your boyfriend or your best friend if he's capable of doing this to you. Do you understand that?' I nod. 'And besides, you do not look terrible.' 'Yeah, right.' I glare at him with my left eye. He cautiously takes the hand that clutches the towel and removes it from my face. 'Okay, maybe you've had better days, but you still don't look terrible,' he smirks. I smile at him. The cut in my lip opens again. Great.

He looks at me in pain. His hand gently touches my lip, wiping away a little bit of blood. He guides the towel back to my face, tells me to hold it to the wound and starts the car again. 'Let's get you to a nurse.' I nod and smile at him, trying hard not to make my lip any worse. 'Jesus Katniss, you did scare me when I saw your face there by the pool,' he chuckled. I scowl at him. 'No, not like that! I mean, I expected you had at least gotten yourself into an armed gang fight,' he says. I smirk. 'Two hits,' I say bitterly. He shakes his head in disbelief. We drive the rest of the way back to school in silence.


	10. The savior

_**Hi there! I was amazed to find my mailbox full of new followers and "favorited" messages. Great, I'm so glad you like the story! Here's the next chapter. It might be kind of lame, but I just love how Peeta acts here, so just read on and see if you agree. Enjoy!**_

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**Chapter 10: "The savior" **

Somehow, we make it to the nurse's office without being noticed by other students. Everyone is outside, enjoying the weather. 'Poor girl, what happened to you?' the nurse asks as soon as she sees my face. I open my mouth to say something, but I just can't. Peeta notices. 'She was sunbathing when some guys were playing football. The ball hit her face. It was an accident,' he explains. I wouldn't know he was lying if I didn't know what had really happened. The nurse nods. 'Poor thing,' she mumbles, writing something down.

She looks at the cut near my eye and decides that it needs three stitches. I freeze. 'It's okay, Katniss, it won't hurt that badly,' Peeta says softly. The nurse anaesthetizes the tissue around the cut and tells me to close my eyes. It's done before I'm fully aware of what's happening. Peeta was right. The pain wasn't that bad. 'It's probably going to be a black eye. Might be a scar too,' the nurse mumbles, cleaning up her tools and removing her gloves. I shiver.

'Katniss, how about this? You go to your room to freshen up a little, put on some clothes…' He grins. I realize I'm only wearing a bikini and the towel I wrapped around my body before going to the storage room of the restaurant. I blush. 'Yeah… I'm sorry about that,' I mutter. 'Don't worry. After that, you might want to rest for a while,' he suggests. I shake my head. I don't feel like being alone. My thoughts about my crushed relationship with Gale and the images of the storage room are most likely to consume my mind if I am alone.

'Okay,' Peeta says pensively. 'Okay, I'll be waiting for you in the park, by that picnic table, how is that?' I smile. 'Good, I'll see you there, then,' he says. 'Wait,' I say as he turns to leave. 'Thanks, Peeta.' 'You're welcome,' he says warmly before walking out the building, to the park, where he will be waiting for me.

* * *

I look at the mirror in my room. Once again, I am shocked by my reflection. This time it's not because I look a little shabby after a make-out session with Gale. Gale… I shouldn't think about him. Somehow, my mind feels a little numb. I can't really believe what happened today. I had put up a wall to protect myself from getting hurt, but Gale managed to crush it completely. I need to pick up the shards to be able to see the damage he's done. But first, I need to deal with my reflection.

The skin around my right eye is swollen and dark purple. The cut is bigger than I expected. Although the nurse cleaned my face to stitch the cut, it still looks a little messy. Blood has created red stains in my hair. 'Sweet Jesus,' I mutter, staring at my face with my left eye. Tears well up again. I still can't believe Gale did this to me. Cheating is one thing, but he beat me. After ripping my heart to shreds, he decided to do the same to my face.

I run to the bathroom and reach the toilet just in time to throw up. I get rid of my breakfast, my lunch and my confusion, all at once. What's left is anger. And sadness. I realize I'm still holding Peeta's towel. It's a bloody mess. I drop Peeta's towel, unwrap the towel around my body, take off my bikini and step into the shower.

While the running water washes the blood away, I start thinking. Not about Gale. I'm done with that subject. I wonder what happened at the beach after I left. What did my friends do? They probably don't even know where I am. After all, I did just storm off. For all they know, I'm still on the road. Do they know I'm hurt? I can't let them know what happened. Even if I'd want to. My phone is still on the beach. So are my clothes and my wallet. They must be worried.

I rinse my hair and try to keep my face dry. The water streaming down my face hurts like hell. I look at my arms. Gale's hands have left bruises on both upper arms. Peeta was wrong. I don't look like I have participated in an armed gang fight. I look like I've been hit by a train. Suddenly, I realize that I've been in the shower for a long time. Peeta said he would wait for me outside. I wonder if he's still waiting after what must be at least an hour. I step out of the shower, check the mirror and decide that I've done all I can do for my appearance. It won't get any better.

I open my closet. Should I wear something with long sleeves to cover up the bruises? I decide not to. It's too hot to wear such clothes and covering the bruises on my arms is useless. People are going to be too distracted by my face to look at my arms anyway. I put on a white dress and grab a pair of sandals. I put on my sunglasses. Not only do I want to cover up my black eye; having to squint my eyes shut because of the sunlight hurts a lot. The school yard seems empty. Everyone is enjoying the great weather elsewhere. No one will judge me if I go out. I take a deep breath and leave the room.

* * *

'See? You don't look terrible at all,' Peeta smiles when I walk up to him. 'I can't believe you're still here. How long have you been waiting?' I ask him. 'Oh, about forty minutes,' he shrugs. He's been here for much longer, but he probably doesn't want to make me feel guilty. 'I know that's a lie,' I tell him sternly. 'Okay, double it, that's about right. But don't worry about it, I promised to wait for you right here, didn't I?' he says, smiling. I sit down next to him.

He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. His hands feel warm, even warmer than the air. They make my skin burn. It feels nice, though. 'Do you mind if I…' he trails off, hesitantly touching my sunglasses. I take a deep breath and remove the glasses. He stares at my face with a blank expression for a while and says: 'Well, it looks better than it did when I saw you in town a couple of hours ago.' He smiles weakly before he looks away. We sit there in silence for a few minutes.

'Jesus Christ, no one deserves this,' he suddenly grunts. I study his angry face. I barely recognize him. He's always so calm and nice to everyone. I've never seen him this mad before. He pulls himself together and his eyes meet mine again. 'If you need me to beat him up… I can take him on,' he grins. 'Thanks, Peeta, but please, don't. I won't let myself drop to that level and I won't let you either. The fact that he did this to me doesn't mean he deserves it. The wrath of his friends and losing me are punishment enough, I guess. I think I'm going to let it rest.'

He stares at me interestedly. 'You know, Katniss, you're a really good person.' I smile at him. 'Thanks, Peeta. So are you.'


	11. Their return

_**Hey guys! Thank you all for reading and reviewing, I really appreciate it. Here's the next chapter. Katniss finds out what has happened to her friends after she left Gale in the parking lot. It might be kind of lame, but I needed to find a way to describe the events on the beach without changing POV's (because I planned to write everything from Katniss' POV) and this is what I came up with. Let me know if you like it, reviews are always appreciated! The next chapter is a little bit more fun, I promise. Enjoy!**_

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**Chapter 11: "Their return" **

Our conversation is interrupted by a loud voice. I'm not ready for it to end yet. I have so many things to say. 'Katniss Everdeen, please come to the principal's office. Katniss Everdeen to the principal's office, please.' I freeze for a moment. The school board must have heard of the fight. How is that even possible? I don't feel like explaining what happened at the beach. I haven't even told my friends yet. Only Peeta has heard it from me. How does the principal know? Maybe Gale is back and he's looking for me around school. Maybe he confessed that he has been in a fight with me and got the principal to make me come to the office to "talk things over" under adult supervision.

'You should go,' Peeta says quietly. I shake my head stubbornly. I don't want to see anyone right now. This feels so good, letting the sun caress my skin, chatting with Peeta… 'What's wrong?' he asks. 'Maybe it's Gale…' I mutter. I didn't really want him to hear me, I guess, but he did. His jaw clenches once again. The furious look returns to his face. He tries to shrug it off and carefully takes my hand. 'Come on, I'll go with you.' I hesitantly get up and follow him to the principal's office.

* * *

I knock on the principal's door, wearing my sunglasses again. Someone opens the door immediately. 'Katniss! Oh my God, Katniss!' Annie hugs me. I flinch slightly, but she doesn't notice. Peeta does. He's still holding my hand. He grabs it even more tightly when he sees my painful grimace. It's very comforting. 'I see you're in safe hands now,' he smiles as Annie lets go of me. 'I'll see you later, okay?' 'Okay. And Peeta… Thanks. For everything,' I say softly. 'I was… Let's say I was on the verge of insanity. Thanks.' He winks, turns around and walks away.

'Annie, where are the others?' I ask her. 'I don't know. Principal Abernathy didn't want a whole crowd in here, so he didn't let them stay,' she explains. I look over her shoulder to see the somewhat shabby man sitting behind his desk. 'Your friends were looking for you, but they couldn't find you. They seemed kind of worried and kept on ranting about a kidnapping, so I called you over here. And here you are,' he shrugs. He looks back at the screen of his computer.

Annie takes my hand and drags me out of the room. She takes me to our dorm room and sits me down on the bed. 'Jesus, Katniss, we were so scared. No one knew where you went. Gale said you just ran off to the… GOOD LORD!' she shouts. Her hands cover her mouth. I realize I've just taken off my sunglasses. Her eyes start watering. 'What happened?' she asks, trying to keep her voice down. Gale obviously didn't tell our friends that he beat me up. Should I tell her? There's no point in lying. I don't know what to tell her, besides the truth. What else could cause these injuries?

'Gale and I got into a fight…' My voice is unsteady. Annie pulls my hair back to look at the cut. 'He did this?' she whispers. I nod shortly. 'Oh Katniss…' she cries. 'I knew you were hurt, because when I got here, all I found was a bloody towel and I was so worried, but I never imagined it to be this bad and I didn't know how it even happened… Gale didn't say anything about hurting you… He just… I can only imagine how much this must hurt. I'm so sorry! How did you get home? You didn't walk all the way back, did you?' 'I ran into Peeta in town. He drove me here.' She stays silent. 'What happened after I left?' I dare to ask. She takes a deep breath and begins to describe it.

When Gale and I were fighting in the parking lot, Madge returned to the others. Her hair was a mess, her lipstick was all over her face and her cheeks were bright red. She broke down as soon as she saw the judging looks on her friends' faces. After a silence, Cato spoke grimly. 'We'll deal with you later.' The group decided that someone needed to check up on me and Gale. Annie and Finnick went to look for us and found Gale cursing and alone in the parking lot. Finnick avoided four blows to the face and managed to grab Gale's wrists, forcing him to calm down.

Annie went to get the others while Finnick made Gale explain what happened. According to Gale, I had busted him while he was kissing Madge and I had disappeared, while he apologized and begged me to forgive him. He had tried to chase after me, but I was too quick. To make it short, Gale has told our friends that I completely overreacted and that technically, he was the victim.

The group took their stuff, got into the cars and went looking for me. Johanna drove through town looking for me with Gale and Madge looking guilty in the back seats of her car. Annie, Finnick, Cato and Clove went looking for me along the road back to school and its surroundings. After an unsuccessful journey, Finnick drove his convertible back to school. Annie went to look for me in our room and found my bikini, my towel and another towel, covered in blood.

She panicked and considered calling the police – what could have happened? I could have been violently kidnapped from our room, I could have struggled to our room with many injuries and disappeared again, it could be a combination of those two – but she consulted Finnick first. He mentioned that I could still be on the school's property and the group visited the principal's office, requesting him to call me to his office. Principal Abernathy sighed and did what they asked him to do.

Annie takes a deep breath. 'And that's about it, I guess.' 'Where are Finnick, Clove and Cato?' 'Looking for you in and around school. I'll text them. And I'll let Johanna know we found you, too.' She takes out her phone and sends them all a short message. 'Done. So Katniss… Gale has obviously left out parts of the story. Do you want to tell me what happened?' I look into her large green eyes. They look so worried and considerate.

'He did… adjust the story a little,' I say bitterly, shaking my head. I can't believe he misled them in this way. A real man owes up to what he did. A real man doesn't cheat on his girlfriend anyway. Or beat her up. Annie looks at me expectantly. 'They were having sex,' I blurt out. Annie doesn't look surprised at all. 'I saw it coming,' she whispered. 'As soon as we realized that they were somewhere else together, I knew that something more than kissing was up.' I nod. 'It was so obvious…' My voice breaks. She puts her hand on my shoulder, encouraging me to go on.

'I shouted at Gale and tried to leave, but he came after me and grabbed my arms.' 'The bruises?' I nod again. 'I tried to get away, but he wouldn't let me. I slammed my foot down on his and I guess that triggered something…' Her eyes widen in confusion and shock. 'He hit me, twice,' I clarify. Annie gently squeezes my shoulder. 'I really don't know what to say,' she mutters. And that's when I start bawling my eyes out. My black eye hurts terribly, but I can't stop the tears. The images in my mind tear me apart. Madge on top of Gale. The anger in Gale's eyes right before he hit me. His grip on my arms. The punches. The look on his face when he realized what he did. My insane escape. And my savior, the sweet boy with the blue eyes, the worried voice and the warm hands.


	12. The intruder

_**Hi everyone! Thank you so much for the reviews and thanks for reading, too. Read on about Peeta and Katniss' friendship developing in something that might, just might be growing into something more serious. Not more left to say, so enjoy!**_

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**Chapter 12: "The intruder"**

'You know what the weird thing is? We've only really known each other for a couple of days, but to me, it feels like years,' Peeta remarks. I take a sip of my coffee and nod. We're sitting by our picnic table in the park once again, just the two of us. He steals a bite of my brownie. When I jokingly glare at him, he pouts and offers me a piece of his cupcake. I grab his cupcake and take a huge bite. He laughs and shakes his head.

Twenty minutes ago, when I was sitting alone in my room, someone knocked on the door. Not knowing who it could be, I opened the door and Peeta stood there with a big smile on his face. His face fell for a second when he sees me – my bruises are worse than yesterday and my face is even more swollen than the last time I saw him – but his smile returned quickly. 'I thought you could use some distraction, so I'm taking you out for coffee right now.' Before I could even respond, he took my hand and dragged me with him. 'Let me at least get my wallet!' I laughed. 'No,' he simply said.

'Have you seen Gale after the fight?' he asks me. 'It's okay if you don't want to talk about it, perhaps I should stick to my own business,' he adds hastily. 'Don't worry. No, haven't seen him around,' I respond. 'I guess Finnick tries to keep him away from me.' Yesterday, after my conversation with Annie, Finnick came to our room to check up on me. We told him everything. Finnick ran off, cursing. I also remember how he has told Gale to treat me well, some days ago, when we got into a bit of a fight in the park. I smile to myself. I'm glad my friends support me.

'Good,' Peeta says. 'You might want to avoid him for the next couple of days.' 'I was planning on doing that.' 'So… what are you going to do now? Tell the principal? Call the police?' he asks, lowering his voice. 'I don't know,' I sigh. I really don't. 'I'm quite sure he'll never do this again, so I don't think I should call the police. I'm not sure about telling Abernathy, I don't think I will. Causing trouble over something that won't happen again is not…' 'Peeta!' A girl's voice interrupts me. I look up to find Delly coming over to us. She glares at me, then sits down next to Peeta, wraps her arms around him and kisses him.

She whispers something to him and puts her hand to his cheek, but she doesn't take her eyes off of my face. After a few minutes of her staring at me and talking to Peeta, who wears an annoyed expression, I get annoyed and uncomfortable. 'Can I help you?' I snap at her. I immediately regret it. 'Yeah, could you please just leave?' she asks with a sweet voice. My eyes widen. I glance at Peeta and see that his jaw has dropped. 'Sure, Delly,' I laugh in disbelief. 'Katniss…' 'No, Peeta, it's okay. I'll see you later.' I grab my cup of coffee and stand up. Peeta covers his face with his hands and shakes his head. Then he looks up at me apologetically. I smile at him, turn around and walk to my dorm room.

The last thing I hear him say is: 'Delly, we obviously need to talk.' Well, I expect that to be the last thing I hear, but I think I should rephrase that. About a minute of walking later, I hear him scream so loud that his voice sounds hoarse. 'What? What the hell is wrong with you two!' I wonder what's going on, but I decide that it's none of my business and I continue walking to the dorm building.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, after doing some reading, I decide to look for Annie. I walk through the building, check the coffee shop and peak into the library, but I can't find her. She might be outside. I walk towards the sports fields, but when I pass the park, I see Peeta. He's sitting in the grass, his head in his hands, a mixed expression on his face. He looks like his conversation with Delly had quite an impact on him. I decide to give up on searching Annie and make my way to him.

'Peeta?' I say quietly when I reach him. He looks up. 'Want to talk?' He shrugs and motions for me to sit down with him. We just sit there for a while, facing each other. He stares into the distance. After about ten minutes, he seems to snap back to reality. He looks me straight in the eye and sends me a weak smile. I look at him expectantly. 'We broke up,' he says flatly. For some reason, it doesn't surprise me at all. As far as I can judge, they were never good together. Strangely, I'm glad they broke up. He's better off without her. I also feel a strange kind of joy that I can't explain and that I probably shouldn't be feeling anyway.

I still feel that I have to ask. 'Why?' 'Well, actually, it was because of you, but not for the reasons you expect.' He plucks at the grass and scowls. Was she really so jealous? I hope Peeta's not upset with me. I really don't think that she deserved him, but I never meant to ruin their relationship. What other reasons does Peeta mean? I stay silent, waiting for him to continue.

He inhales deeply. 'Madge is Delly's best friend. Allegedly, Madge has liked Gale since… well, forever, and she has always been jealous of your friendship with him, but when you started dating him, she was a wreck. That's basically why Madge and Delly hated you.' I raise my eyebrows. I realize that I must look silly with my swollen eye, but I don't care. I never knew Madge had such a serious crush on my boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend. It comes to me that I haven't even broken up with Gale officially. I should get that over with soon. But first, I should focus on Peeta.

'Delly said that Gale started flirting with Madge about a month ago,' he says, nervously looking at my face. A month? I've been oblivious for a month? 'Basically, what happened is that Delly snapped at me for hanging out with you and called you… an ugly bitch. She was referring to your injuries. I got mad and told her that those injuries wouldn't be there in the first place if it wasn't for her stupid friend. She then yelled something about you being a skank and a boyfriend stealer and what not. She told me not to talk to you anymore, because she was convinced that after losing Gale, you'd do anything to take me away from her.' He laughs bitterly.

I'm shocked. I can't believe Delly said that. Being jealous is one thing, but she actually tried to keep him from seeing me? That's insane. 'Jesus,' I mutter. 'What did you do?' 'Well, I believe my exact words were…' he chuckles, 'Go fuck yourself.' I start laughing and put my hands over my mouth. He bursts out in laughter too. 'I'm sorry, but that's genius,' I smirk after we've calmed down a little. 'I think you're better off without her, Peeta.' 'I'm sure I am. That girl is twisted, I can't believe what I was thinking…' he trails off.

Suddenly, I realize that our faces are only inches apart. He seems to realize it too. For a few seconds, we stare at each other. We look away, blush and lean back simultaneously. He bites his lip to keep himself from laughing at the ridiculousness of the entire situation, but we end up rolling through the grass hysterically, laughing our heads off for no particular reason. For the sake of it.


	13. The breakup

_**Dear readers, thanks for reviewing and sticking with me! Nothing to explain, so just enjoy!**_

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**Chapter 13: "The break-up"**

I enter the cafeteria to have dinner. My eyes spy around the room while I'm waiting for my plate. As soon as I've spotted Annie and taken my plate from the lady behind the counter, I approach my friends' table. Hesitation pulls me to a halt. I observe my friends' faces. They're all there. Even Gale and Madge are in the group. It looks like nothing ever happened. I don't feel comfortable at all. But then I notice. Their laughter is forced, their smiles are fake.

I bite my lip and wince. Damn it, I forgot it is still swollen and sore. I'm not sure whether sitting with my friends is a good idea right now. Not if Gale and Madge are there. What's worse is that they don't seem able to keep their hands off each other. As if nothing ever happened. As if they didn't betray me in the worst way I can think of. I can't deal with that right now. An uncontrollable panicky feeling spreads through my body. It's like I'm frozen.

Peeta looks up from the table where he's having dinner with his friends. He notices that something is wrong immediately. 'Okay?' he mouths. I nod unconvincingly. His friends seem to ask him something and he shakes his head. He glances at me once again and winks. I smile weakly. He frowns, but I'm distracted from our silent conversation by Annie's voice. 'Katniss, come over here,' she says. I take a deep breath and take the seat next to her. Everyone falls silent.

I look at their faces once again, only to see pity in their eyes. My gaze lingers on Gale, who avoids eye contact. 'You don't even feel guilty, do you?' I ask him all of a sudden. 'Look me in the eye and tell me that you're sorry.' He finally looks at me. 'Katniss, I am. I'm really…' he starts apologizing. His grey eyes are pools of desperation and frustration, but not regret. He shakes his head. I knew he wouldn't be able to lie about this. 'Okay, that confirms that we're done,' I say coldly. I utter a bitter laugh before standing up without my plate. I excuse myself and leave, desperately trying to hide my tears. I shouldn't be surprised, but it still hurts that he doesn't care about me anymore. The friendship that used to mean so much to me is gone forever. I'll never show him how much it breaks me, though.

I walk to the picnic table in the park again. It's starting to become a comforting place, where I don't have to worry about Gale or anyone else. Every time I'm here by this table, I'm alone or with Peeta. I sit down on top of the table and pull up my knees. I wrap my arms around my legs and let my forehead rest on my knees. I finally allow myself to have feelings about what happened between me and Gale. I'm not scared of him. I can't really tell if I'm angry. Apparently, he didn't care about my feelings after his cheating, so he probably didn't really love me. Who am I to keep him in a loveless relationship? Who am I to be angry at him for trying to break out of it?

I'm just upset, I guess. My tears leave wet stains on my jeans. Upset because our friendship is gone. Upset because the person I cared about the most played with my feelings like this. I'm not upset with Gale. I'm upset with the situation as a whole. Upset because I didn't catch all the signs. I should have known. Maybe, deep down, I did know what was going on. I just didn't want to believe it.

'So I guess I'm going to have to take you to a restaurant, then?' a familiar and comforting voice laughs. I look up into the most intense blue eyes I have ever seen. For a moment, I don't understand. Then, I realize that I haven't eaten anything. He must have seen me leaving early. I am getting hungry, but there's no way I'm going back to the cafeteria now. I smile at him. He sits down next to me on the table top and lets his feet dangle off the edge.

'Gale?' he asks. I nod. 'It's hard. Aren't you sad about breaking up with Delly?' 'Katniss, listen. I don't miss Delly, because I don't want a person like her. She doesn't deserve me, however cocky that may sound,' he chuckles. 'Gale doesn't deserve you, not in a million years. The difference is that you care.' 'Well, then again, he did ruin my face.' 'That is exactly why you shouldn't waste your time being sad about losing him. You're better off this way, Katniss. It sounds harsh, but you should be glad you got to know the real Gale before you got even more involved with him.'

Peeta's right. He's right once again. He doesn't know about Gale and me not sleeping together, but I'm glad I didn't do it. I nod and laugh through my tears. 'He couldn't even look at me and say he was sorry for what he did. What kind of a man does that?' 'You know, that lame kind that punches their girlfriends,' he smirks. We chat on for a while. He has managed to cheer me up. 'I'm afraid I have to thank you again, Peeta.' Before I realize what I'm doing, I lean towards him and fling my arms around his neck to pull him in for a hug. He wraps his arms around my waist, still careful to avoid hurting me, and lets his head rest on top of mine.

His closeness and his warmth make me feel safer than I've ever felt with Gale. There was always a certain tension. Before Gale and I started dating, we were like family and we would always stand up for each other if necessary, but when we were together, he was never unconditionally nice or comforting. Peeta is entirely different. I still can't believe we've only really known each other for less than a week. As Peeta said a couple of hours ago, it feels like we've been friends for years. There's something else, though. I'm afraid I might start to like this boy. I know I shouldn't. Maybe I'm just clinging to him because of the trouble with Gale. I decide not to act on my feelings. I don't want to ruin another friendship.

'Tomorrow is Monday,' he says. I know what he means. Class starts again tomorrow. I haven't been covering up my face today, but it was really quiet around school because of the nice weather. Everyone's going to notice tomorrow. 'I wonder what they'll think,' I mumble. 'They'll think: look, there's poor Katniss, that girl who got a football to her face last Saturday,' Peeta responds calmly. I smile. I had completely forgotten about his excuse for my injured face.

My stomach growls. We both start laughing and get off the table. So much for the quiet moment of peace. 'Do you want to go back to the cafeteria? They're probably already done eating,' he suggests. I nod. I can't avoid them forever, but it's easier to live without them looking at me – or avoiding my eyes, for that matter – all the time.

When we enter the cafeteria, I notice that my friends' table is empty. Relieved, I release the breath I didn't realize I was holding. Peeta tells me to sit down and goes to the counter to get me some food. He brings me the plate and sits down across the table, facing me. I start devouring the noodles. His eyes are focused on my face all the time. I stop eating to look at him. 'Would you stop staring at me while I eat? It makes me kind of nervous,' I smirk.

'Oh, yeah, of course, I'm sorry,' he says quickly, blushing. 'I just noticed how even with the injuries, you look way too beautiful for a guy like Gale. You need to know.'


	14. The flirt

_**Dear everyone, thank you for reading and reviewing! I really like chapter 14. It's cute and awkward and so very high school. Enjoy, let me know what you think!**_

_**(Disclaimer: you know the works.)**_

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**Chapter 14: "The flirt"**

I look up at Peeta's face. It's turning bright red. 'I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that, I make you feel uncomfortable. Forget it,' he mutters. He looks away, but I keep staring at his face until he looks back at me. 'Don't be sorry. It's really sweet.' I think of Gale. Gale, the boy who was my boyfriend and my best friend until yesterday afternoon. He told me I was beautiful all the time, but it was always followed by a kiss or an attempt to convince me to give in to him. I haven't realized that before, because I was used to it. Now that I've heard Peeta say it in a completely different and innocent way, it becomes clear that Gale's compliments were never sincere.

'What's wrong?' he asks. I decide to tell him the truth. 'I can't remember the last time anyone said that to me without any other intentions, besides making me feel better.' He studies me. I feel my face flush. I awkwardly look down and continue eating. When he looks away and stares into the distance, I observe his face. The artificial light makes his golden hair seem just a little bit darker than it really is. It falls into his eyes and he lifts his hand to brush it away. I can see his muscles moving under his shirt. His lips are curled into a little, absent-minded smile. As he turns his piercing blue eyes back to me, I realize that he's actually very handsome. Objectively speaking, of course.

'You're done,' he states, looking at his watch. 'We've got plenty of time to get ourselves some ice cream in town, if you're up for it?' 'Yeah,' I smile. I don't feel like hanging out with my friends tonight. I don't want to hear about their feelings about Gale and Madge – I've got enough feelings about them myself. I don't think I can deal with their anger and frustration on top of mine. 'Yeah, Peeta, that would be great.'

We take his car to town again. It's quite a long drive, but it's worth it. He has taken the rooftop off his small, two-seated convertible. I lean back in the passenger's seat and watch the landscape. After a little while, we arrive in town and park the car. Peeta gets out and opens my door for me. I smile at him. He has great manners. Another thing Gale didn't care about. Every minute I spend with Peeta makes me wonder what I was thinking when I was with Gale even more. They are total opposites. And that's just fine with me. Gale turned out to be an ass.

Peeta pays for my ice cream and we end up sitting on a bench on the little square near the ice cream parlor. 'I'm sure this is the best ice cream in the world,' I say. He nods in agreement. We finish the ice cream in silence. I stand up to throw the plastic cups away and when I come back, I sit down just a little bit closer to him. To be honest, I have no idea what I'm up to. I just know that I love being around this considerate, sweet, caring, funny and very handsome boy. I don't know if I have feelings for him. I tell myself I shouldn't have them, keeping Gale – and Delly – in the back of my mind. Still, I lean against his shoulder. If I ignore all the confused feelings I have about him, this feels good. It's warm. It's comfortable.

Before I can stop myself, I sigh contently. God, that's awkward. Peeta's chest resonates when he talks. 'What was that, now?' he smirks. I hope he can't see I'm turning crimson in the light of the falling sun. I just laugh, not knowing what to say. He puts his arm around my shoulders and lets his hand rest on the bruises on my upper arm. 'You're cold,' he frowns, pulling me in a little closer. I shiver. Not because I'm cold, though.

'Can you believe what happened this weekend?' I ask him. He looks down to see my face. 'What do you mean?' 'Gale beat me up yesterday. You broke up with Delly today. I officially broke up with Gale today, too. It's insane.' 'It is,' he smiles. 'How do you feel? About what happened, I mean,' he asks me. I think about what I'm going to say, but I realize I do mean it. 'If I could go back in time and make sure this weekend never existed, I wouldn't.'

He looks surprised. I smile at him. If I didn't catch Gale cheating on me yesterday, he still would have done it. I just wouldn't know. I might have busted him later, when I had already slept with him or worse. 'I would have done one thing different, though,' I add. 'What's that?' 'I would run away from Gale faster. Would've saved myself some stitches.' Peeta laughs. I lost a friend, but I found a new friend in Peeta. And for some reason, I can't picture him ever hurting me in any way.

I look up and his eyes burn into mine. I feel butterflies. Shit. I shouldn't. But I do. My mind tells me to back away. My body says tons of other things. When I don't listen to either of them, it's just those big blue eyes in front of me, telling me that it's right. He lifts his hand and strokes my swollen lip. He gently touches the hurt skin around my eye – which I can open again – and avoids the stitches. He raises his eyebrows, as if to ask me if I'm really, entirely sure.

I know that I am. I'm very, very sure. My eyes flicker to his lips and back to his eyes. I can't control it. He smiles and leans in. The butterflies are going mad. My mind is spinning. This is too quick. I barely know him. I just broke up with Gale. I'm vulnerable. I should be single for a while instead of running on to the next guy. Yet, I close my eyes and lean in too. Just before our lips touch, we hear a wolf whistle. 'Oh, please, no,' he sighs, his face still only an inch away from mine. He looks up when someone to his left calls his name. I let my head rest against the side of his jaw. Moment ruined.

Three of Peeta's friends are coming over to us. One of them whistles again. 'Nice job, Peeta.' 'Shut up, Gloss,' Peeta grunts. 'Katniss, these are my friends, Gloss, Marvel and Thresh. Guys, this is Katniss.' I look up at them and smile. Boys will always be boys. And if that kiss was meant to be, it will happen sometime. 'Wow, girl, what happened to you?' Thresh asks. I look up at Peeta. There's no way I'm telling them the truth. 'Football incident,' I mumble. 'Looks like you've taken quite a hit. Bad,' Marvel says. I nod. 'Yeah, it was pretty painful.'

'So, Peeta, what happened to your girlfriend, Delly?' Gloss asks, glancing at me with an evil smile on his face. 'Broke up with her. Crazy girl,' Peeta shrugs. Gloss looks surprised, but Marvel and Thresh nod approvingly. I smirk. They probably weren't too fond of her, either. It is strange that he didn't tell them over dinner. 'Why did you break up?' Marvel asks. 'Clingy, jealous, annoying, you name it,' Peeta responds. 'It doesn't really matter anyway.'

I'm glad he didn't tell his friends what really happened. He wouldn't be able to tell them what happened with Delly without mentioning Gale. I don't want everyone to know. It's painful and embarrassing. I make a mental note to thank him later. He pulls me in just a little bit closer. 'Guys, we're off,' Peeta tells his friends. 'It's been a long day.' 'Okay, later man. Bye, Katniss,' Thresh says as Peeta and I get up. The three of them walk on. Peeta and I walk back to the car, but not before my fingers are entwined with his.


	15. Nearly something

_**Hi there! So Peeta and Katniss are finally growing really close. More awkward cuteness in this chapter. Thank you for reading and reviewing, enjoy!**_

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**Chapter 15: "Nearly something"**

Peeta holds the door of the car for me again after he has parked his car in front of our school. After he has locked his convertible, he confidently grabs my hand and strokes its back with his thumb as we walk to my dorm building. It's a lovely and soothing feeling. We don't say anything, but we both know that there's something between us. My heart beats insanely fast. We nearly kissed. I can't stop looking at his face now, at his gorgeous blue eyes, his perfect jaw bone, his lips… I can't stand myself for falling for him so hard. But I can't stop myself either. I just let it happen.

We arrive in front of my door. I turn to face him. 'Thanks again, Peeta. I had a lot of fun. I needed it.' 'Me too.' I hesitate. He opens his mouth to say something, but then shuts it again. I take a deep breath. 'So I guess there's something here, right?' I whisper, feeling the blush creep up on my cheeks. He nods, smiling. 'I'm pretty sure.' He squeezes my hand. The butterflies return. Why am I saying all of this? It would be much easier to avoid the subject. I still feel the need to talk about… us. If there's an "us" to talk about.

He opens his mouth again. Before he can change his mind, I tell him: 'Just say it.' 'I was just thinking… Maybe it's too soon. But it feels right, doesn't it?' I bite my lip and nod. 'Well,' I say hesitantly, 'we could at least take it slow. Or not take anything at all. It's just…' I trail off. 'It's what?' 'It's just that I don't feel like I am just out of a relationship. I really, really don't love Gale anymore. I thought I did, but he betrayed me…' 'You don't need to talk about this right now if you don't want to,' he interrupts me. 'I do. He's not who I thought he was. I don't love the real Gale.'

He nods pensively. 'Well, Delly and I were already going to break up, I just didn't expect it to be today,' he smirks. We fall silent for a second. 'It's just so sudden, I don't really know what to think,' I mutter. 'Me neither. But maybe we just shouldn't think,' he suggests with a hint of a smile on his face. Perhaps he's right. My mind tells me to back off and mourn about Gale, but my heart doesn't agree. There's no way of telling which one of the two is the right one to listen to.

Peeta takes my other hand. 'So what do we do?' 'I guess we should take it slow and see what happens.' He snakes his hands around my waist and pulls me in for a hug. 'Sounds good,' he says as he hides his face in my hair. I put my arms around his neck and lay my head against his chest. He smells like cinnamon and mint. It's amazing how affectionate Peeta can be without trying to push me. It's like he would be happy staring at me forever, just knowing that I'll stare back at him every once in a while. I realize once again that Peeta is the complete opposite of Gale. Stop. Stop thinking of Gale while you're with Peeta, Katniss. He's not worth ruining the moment.

'I'm glad we sorted that out,' I chuckle. I start backing away, but when I see his face, I stop moving. It's filled with longing and adoration. From his face, I can read the feelings I'm feeling right now. We're obviously on the same page. A devious smile flashes over his face, but it disappears as quickly as it came. He slowly leans in to me, waiting for my reaction. Somehow, I'm just pulled towards those piercing blue eyes and those lips that have spoken so many sweet and comforting words to me.

I lean in too. Suddenly, I can't help but giggle. He scowls. 'What?' 'Nothing. Just thinking about how bad we are at sticking to our plan.' He laughs and starts closing the distance between us when the door to my room opens. Peeta and I both look up in shock. 'Katniss, there you are! I thought I heard someone talking on the corridor and I just… Oh, God, I'm sorry,' Annie says while a smile appears on her face. I look at Peeta and we both burst out in laughter. 'Don't worry, Annie,' I tell her. I kiss Peeta's cheek and whisper: 'Slow, remember?' He chuckles and turns on his heels. 'I'll see you tomorrow, Katniss. Sweet dreams.'

I turn to Annie. 'Well, that was awkward,' I state. 'Just a little bit,' she laughs. 'I was getting worried about you. No one knew where you were after you stormed out of the cafeteria. I saw Peeta following you, so I assumed you were okay, but when you stayed away for so long, not answering your phone…' 'I'm sorry, Annie, I have been kind of rude,' I apologize. 'Oh, that's okay, I'm glad you're okay. Are you coming in or what?'

As we sit on my bed, we talk about the day. 'You can only imagine how awkward dinner was after you left,' Annie chuckles. 'Really, it was awful. I mean, Gale and Madge are our friends, you know, but what they did isn't acceptable. Finnick was furious at Gale for punching you in the face, the girls all kind of ignore Madge… It's so awkward.' 'I can imagine. You know, I don't think you should all abandon them because of me. I don't want you to be biased, it's up to you. As long as they don't do anything to you guys…' I start.

'You're a really mature person, Katniss, do you know that?' she asks. I shrug. 'Thanks, I guess.' 'I'm proud of you for dealing with it this well,' she continues. I smile at her. 'So what's up with Peeta Mellark?' she grins. 'It's weird,' I laugh. 'I've only really known him since Wednesday. We get along really well.' 'Yeah, I noticed,' Annie comments. 'Ha, ha. Nice, Annie. We hung out on Friday and yesterday, I ran into him and he took me home from town when I was hurt, he kept me company, it was really sweet.'

Annie nods. She looks thoughtful, waiting for me to continue. 'Then today, he just knocked the door and dragged me along to get some coffee. And then, when I walked out of the cafeteria during dinner, he came after me, talked to me and then sat by me in the cafeteria to make sure I ate,' I say, smiling as I think of today. 'And then he took me out for ice cream in town.' 'You look dreamy, Katniss.' I blush, causing her to laugh out loud.

'You know what the weird part is? He broke up with his girlfriend today.' 'Delly?' Annie raises her eyebrows. 'Yeah. And she said insane things. About me. Apparently, Madge thinks that I stole her man when I started dating Gale,' I tell her. 'No way! That explains a lot, though,' Annie says. 'The way she glared at you, for example.' 'You noticed too? I knew it wasn't just me. Also, Delly tried to keep Peeta from hanging out with me, because she was sure I would go after him since I had lost Gale.' 'She's got issues.' 'And that's why Peeta broke up with her.' 'She deserved that.' 'She just might be right about me stealing Peeta,' I chuckle and blush immediately. Did I say that out loud?

'You know, Katniss,' Annie starts, 'I'd say it's too soon for you to date anyone. I know how close you and Gale were. It must be painful to lose that. But Peeta is a really good guy. If you should be with anyone after what you've been through, it's definitely him. And if Peeta is not freaking out about things being too soon after his break-up, you might want to give it a shot.' I nod. 'You know what, Annie? I think I will.'


	16. Very nearly something

_**Yet another chapter. I'm sorry to keep you waiting for the kiss for so long, but I promise it's coming soon! Not much left to say, so enjoy!**_

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**Chapter 16: "Very nearly something" **

My alarm clock wakes me up. I stretch my arms above my head and yawn. 'Morning, Annie.' She mutters something. Annie is not really a morning person. She pulls her pillow over her head. I laugh and hop into the shower. When I leave the bathroom, Annie is still in bed. 'Annie…' 'I know, I know,' she grunts, stepping out of her bed. When she comes out of the shower, she's in a better mood. 'You are very grumpy in the morning,' I tell her sternly. She smiles apologetically.

We are the first of our group at the breakfast table. We make some small talk. When Peeta walks by, holding his plate, he stops by my table. I look up at him as he ruffles my hair. 'Good morning, Katniss,' he smiles. With that, he walks to the table where his friends are having breakfast. I blush and look at Annie to see her smirking. I roll my eyes and continue eating.

'Ladies,' Finnick says, kissing Annie's hair as he sits down next to her. 'Katniss, how are you doing?' 'Fine. Thanks.' 'Sure?' 'Sure.' He winks at me. 'So how is life sharing a dorm with Gale?' I grin. 'He kind of avoids me. Probably because I threatened to beat the shit out of him if he ever looked at you again.' I laugh. 'Thanks, Finnick.' 'I still can't believe he actually hit you. Who does that to a girl?' 'Who cheats on his girlfriend?' 'He's a dick, Katniss.' 'Well, at least he thinks with his dick,' I say bitterly. Finnick chuckles. 'How is your face?' 'My lip doesn't really hurt anymore. And I'm glad I can open my eye again, so I'm not complaining,' I tell him. He nods and focuses on his food.

I take my math books out of my locker and slam it shut. I turn around and bump into someone. 'Oh, I'm sorry,' I mutter. 'It's kind of my fault for creeping up on you,' a familiar voice says. I look into Peeta's eyes. 'Yeah, actually, it is.' 'Dinner tonight at seven.' 'What?' 'You heard me.' 'Excuse me, was that an order? I don't take orders.' I flash him a teasing smile. He sighs and falls to his knees. 'Dear Katniss Everdeen,' he pleads as I burst out laughing, 'will you please join me tonight and escape from the filthy cafeteria food to have something edible for a change?'

I nearly double in laughter as he takes my hand and kisses it. 'I'd love to, Peeta, as long as you promise to never do that again.' 'I'll try.' He gets up and takes my other hand, moving towards my ear. My heart is pounding against my chest. 'So it's a date,' he whispers into my hair before he walks away and leaves me and my racing heart alone by my locker. A date. I haven't really thought about it that way. It sounds so official. Wasn't our ice cream outing actually a date, too? We didn't intend it to be. It probably wasn't. We were friends. We're still friends now, but it's obvious that we won't be "just friends" for much longer. No, I'm quite sure that yesterday wasn't a real date. Tonight is.

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I'm strolling through the park when I hear someone sobbing. I look around and see Gale sitting against a tree. I don't know if I should talk to him. I wouldn't know what to say. But I still have a weakness: I can't deal with a crying Gale. Now is the time to learn how to deal with it anyway. 'Gale?' I say softly. He roughly rubs the tears out of his eyes and stands up. I breathe in and say: 'What's going on?' 'I'm a terrible person, Katniss, I just didn't know until now.' His confession surprises me. I want to tell him he's not a terrible man at all, but I can't. In fact, I kind of agree with him. So I stay silent and wait for him to say whatever he has to say to the girl he cheated on and beat up.

'How are you?' he whispers. 'Fine, thank you,' I say coldly. He shakes his head. 'Jesus, Katniss, I just want to tell you I'm sorry, but I don't even know where to start.' 'That's weird. You couldn't even tell me you were sorry before. And when was that? Only yesterday, I believe.' His expression hardens. 'I guess I deserve this.' I don't react. He does deserve this. 'You're not going to forgive me, are you?' I look at him, straight in the eyes, the ones that resemble mine so much. 'No.'

He blinks away tears. They don't do anything to me anymore. 'I have one question, Gale.' 'What?' 'Why? Why did you cheat on me and why, for God's sake, why did you hit me?' I feel emotions welling up, but I try my best to suppress them. I don't want him to see I'm vulnerable. He sighs deeply. 'I had needs. I know that's a poor excuse and I don't expect you to accept it, but she was easy and I was… well, being me.'

I laugh bitterly. He looks even more hurt than before. 'And I hit you because I was scared.' 'Scared?' 'I freaked out. I knew I was going to lose you and I didn't want you to get away from me before I could explain and apologize.' 'So you punched me. Twice.' 'Katniss… I got frustrated with being so powerless. I couldn't control the situation and therefore, I couldn't control myself. I lost it.' 'I noticed.' 'Please, Katniss, stop being like this.' 'Why should I?' He stares at me. 'Go fuck yourself, Gale Hawthorne,' I say as I turn around and start walking back to my dorm. 'Just know that I still love you, Katniss,' he whispers as I leave. I hold back a smile and ignore him. I'm finally done with Gale.

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That night, I dress up nicely and cover the bruises with make-up. I look in the mirror. I usually don't care much about my appearance, but tonight, I want to look good. I realize that this is my first real date ever. Gale and I didn't really do this kind of thing. Stop thinking about Gale. Stop. I like my looks and check up with Annie. 'Good?' 'Gorgeous, Katniss,' she says, beaming at me. Right then, Peeta knocks the door. I open the door and look at him. He looks great. I'm guessing he spent at least as much time on his appearance as I did. 'You look beautiful, Katniss. Let's go, shall we?'

He takes me to a French restaurant. It's quite fancy. 'What are escargots?' I ask him. He chuckles. 'Snails.' 'Oh God.' We order and he persuades me to taste one of those snails. It's not as bad as I expected. Still, he laughs at me as my face turns into a grimace. Other than the escargots, the food is lovely. 'You're never going to guess what happened to me today,' I tell him, thinking about my encounter with Gale.

I briefly tell him what happened. 'Really? What did you say?' Peeta stares at me intensely. 'I told him,' I smile, thinking back of Peeta's story about his break-up with Delly, 'to go fuck himself.' He starts laughing out loud. People having dinner by a table nearby look up, but we don't care. We end up in a laughing fit. 'And then, when I was about to leave, he told me he still loves me,' I say more seriously. 'He did?' I nod. 'What did you do?' 'Nothing. I left him there. I can't let him manipulate me again.' He smiles at me. We're finished eating before I know it. Peeta pays for my food again. 'Peeta, I can…' 'No, I insist. And Katniss?' 'Yes?' 'I'm proud of you.'


End file.
